“Yeah, I’m okay. Wow, you just say whatever’s on your mind, don’t you?” Nodding, she smiled at me. I wanted to lean over and kiss her.
“I have no choice. I’m a stranger on your land.”
“You’re not in another country,” I barked.
“And there you go again. But to answer your little comment, I may as well be. I don’t know anyone here but you and your family. I depend on you to keep me safe. Brandon also, but you’re the one Ebony said I should trust. You’re the one she sent me to for the next thirty days. Yet, when I arrive, you won’t speak to me. You refuse to shake my hand. I feel like I’m an outsider that no one wanted here. Well, except Brandon. He’s been nice to me.”
I couldn’t help the rumble that came from my chest. “You’re not here for him.” I know how I meant it, but I’m hoping she didn’t pick up the nuance in my words.
“You’re right. I’m not here for him. I’m here for me. So, I can finally be free and live my life the way I want, on my own terms. Trust me, I’m not going to interfere with anything you have going on here. I have my e-reader and my clients, who I can support online from anywhere. You won’t even know I’m here.”
If only she knew. Her soft, sweet scent was already in my nose and in the house. There was no way in hell I could forget she was here. “That’s unnecessary, Tamara.”
“So, tell me why you refused to shake my hand. At first, I thought it was because of my skin color. Then I met Gladys, and I really questioned what was going on. Yes, she works for you, but she doesn’t act like an employee. Then I saw your son….”
I heard the question in her tone. Answering her would mean I’d need to talk about Janet. My late wife. As her voice trailed off, leaving me an opening, I allowed it to stretch as I stayed silent for another minute. I saw her shift and open her mouth to say something else when I spoke.
“His mother, my wife, was my high school sweetheart. A drunk driver killed her when Sammy was just a baby.”
“I’m so sorry, Clint.”
Hearing her say my name like that for the first time caught me off-guard. Then again, it had only been a day since she’d walked into my life. And not even a full day at that. There hadn’t been many chances for us to sit and just talk. Part of that was my fault with how I’d acted. Hopefully, I was making up for that now.
“Now it’s my turn to say it. No need to be sorry.” I glanced up at her. Our eyes met. Hers glistening with tears. “But I think what you’re really trying to find out is if my wife was black. She was.”
“I-I’m sorry, Clint. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories for me. I was just curious is all because I was so confused by our meeting earlier.”
God, why was she so fucking sweet and sassy and beautiful, all mixed together into one perfect package?
Janet, I need you to help me out here.
Silence.
“Not bad memories, just sad ones.”
“Does he ask about her,” she probed a bit deeper.
I nodded, “He does. I have a book of photos that we look at when he wants to connect with her. I tell him the story of how we met and fell in love and had the most perfect son ever.”
“It must be nice to have those good memories, even if she’s gone.”
She wasn’t gone. Not really. I could still feel her looking over us, even after all these years. Those memories sometimes interfered with his efforts to live life. Not that he’d really tried to move on. Even the hint of another woman getting too close to him would trigger a memory of Janet. He’d remember why he loved her. That would always be the death knell to any kind of long-term relationship. So one-night stands and short-term hookups were what he focused on. Plus, he didn’t bring those women home, so there was no threat of Sammy meeting them.
It was time to change the subject. “Is that the only question you had for me? Nothing else?”
A smile came over her lips just before she nodded. “Well, since you asked. Your dad and Gladys? I mean, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but that was something. I felt like I should have had a bowl of popcorn or something. I’m not trying to pry or anything, but it seems like there’s a story there.”